No wrong-side ride, even in emergency, Gurugram cops told

GURUGRAM: Policemen deployed in emergency vehicles have been told not to take the wrong side - even if it means getting stuck in a snarl or a traffic signal while responding to a call.
The order to the 180 cops managing the 70-odd emergency response vehicles (ERV) in the city comes a couple of days after a six-month-old girl died when the car in which she was travelling was hit by a police van being driven on the wrong side of the Gurugram-Faridabad road. That ERV was rushing to an accident site and had taken the wrong side to avoid getting stuck at a traffic signal in Ghata.

On Tuesday morning, a workshop was held for a batch of cops deployed in ERVs - patrolling vehicles that respond to emergencies first after being alerted by the police control room. A similar training session will be held on Wednesday as well.
The cops were instructed not to flout traffic rules and drive on the wrong carriageways "under any circumstances". If stuck at a signal or in a long snarl, the ERV drivers were told to alert the nearest police vehicle.
The cops were also told to remain calm and composed in emergency situations and schooled on behaviour with complainants.
DCP (traffic) Virender Singh Sangwan clarified that no one was exempt from the rules of traffic. He said responding to emergencies was crucial, but not at the cost of putting human lives at risk.
"All policemen managing the ERVs were told not to flout traffic norms under any circumstances. Even in an emergency, they should stick to the rules, without putting lives at risk or inconveniencing others," he added.
Sangwan clarified there were an adequate number of ERVs in a particular area and any vehicle stuck in a jam or signal should ask the nearest vehicle to head to the site of emergency.
"Breaking traffic norms should not be encouraged at all. There should be no unnecessary haste," he added.
As part of standard operating procedure, the DCP said, cops deployed in an ERV should help the injured persons and inform the control room if the vehicle meets with an accident.
In the Sunday accident, the constable driving the ERV and the special officer accompanying him had fled the spot as 5 persons, including the infant, lay injured in the other car. They had not informed the control room either.
Cops deployed with ERVs told TOI they followed traffic norms, but were also under extreme pressure to respond to emergencies "without wasting any time". "We just have a few minutes at hand. We have to reach the emergency site without wasting any time. If we are late, we have to give an explanation," an ERV driver said.